How A Roman Should Die
by PipeLad
Summary: Harry Potter is sent to Ancient Rome to fulfill a Prophecy given to him by the god of prophecy himself. Follow his adventure and his story as he makes history. This story will be long, possibly part of a series. Will be rated M for violence. Not sure about any pairing as of right now, might now have one. No slash, and probably no bashing.
1. Chapter 1

How a Roman Should Die

Welcome to another fanfiction story of mine. This one will be different than my others, but I do recommend that all y'all give the others a chance and give them a read. I love reviews and comments, and if you notice anything wrong, off, or inconsistent then feel free to send me a PM.

This will be time travel, and it will be historical fiction. If I make blatant errors please PM me, but keep in mind that it may be intentional.

This is only the Prologue, the first chapter might be/ should be up tonight, possibly with another chapter of What Was Once Forgotten.

Hadrian 'Harry' James Potter had done many things during his long life. As a teenager he had defeated Lord Voldemort and became the Master of Deathly Hallows. This had been the greatest curse in his life. Upon becoming the Master of Death not much had changed immediately, but gradually changed Harry's life had changed. First he lived to the age of 100, a healthy, respectable age for a wizard. And then 150 came around, he was still healthy and spry. Harry was now 300 years old, but he did not look a day over 25, which had caused some unwanted questions from the press and the Ministry of Magic.

After outliving the last of his friends, Harry had completely dropped into seclusion. Hiding, moving, always researching more and more obscure magics Harry never stayed in one area for too long ever again. For 150 years he had lived this life, watching the world around him change constantly. Wars, invasions, Dark uprisings, Harry had watched it all from afar. During his seclusion Harry had become more powerful than ever, researching obscure and ancient magics, and training in various forms of combat.

That was how Harry kept himself sane in his hermitude. While tracking down various magical artifacts and tomes was what interested him greatly, he turned his will and discipline into mastering different combat forms and styles, mainly hand to hand combat and various melee weapons.

Currently Harry was tracking down an ancient scroll that was supposed to contain the incantation for a very powerful Ancient Roman spell. Which was how Harry found himself searching through a musty and gloomy cave on the island of Sardinia, rather near the city of Cagliari, or Caralis as it was once known. It had taken him months to track this spell down to this particular cave, and now it was time to see his months of work come to fruition.

Moving slowly with his wand in his right hand, held aloft with a _lumos_ spell providing light, and a steel short-sword in his left hand Harry felt prepared. His clothing was enchanted to protect him from magic and physical damage, his reflexes were as good as they were in his quidditch days, and he was confident in his skills with not just his wand, but with his blade. Despite being about 300 years old at this point Harry was still at his peak, thanks to being Master of the Deathly Hallows.

Thinking of the Hallows, as he did quite often he glanced at the wand in his right hand. At first the Elder Wand had been quite difficult to use, and he had not even wanted to use it. Hermione and Ron had convinced him that it was too great of an opportunity to waste, and was dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands. The Ressurection Stone was on his finger, Harry sometimes used it to hold conversations with his long since departed friends and family members. Thinking of the Invisibility Cloak Harry patted a small leather pouch on his hip, content once he felt the weight and mass of the Cloak.

Staying in a ready stance and slowly progressing his way through the rather tight cave Harry stayed on alert. He could almost _taste_ the latent magic in the air, something towards the rear end of the cave was heavily enchanted, very heavily enchanted.

Looking at his surroundings Harry paused for a moment. His _lumos_ spell cast light through the small cavern that he was standing in, and he could see a small tunnel half hidden by a large grey boulder that continued onwards. The tunnel seemed to be leading not just further inside, but also slanting downwards deeper underground. It was also in the direction that Harry could sense the magical buildup. Glancing around the grey stone walls of the cave Harry continued on through the tunnel, crouching slightly and staying alert.

After a few minutes walk, with the feeling of powerful and ancient magics not unlike the ones at Hogwarts becoming stronger and stronger, Harry reached a dead end. The slate grey stone suddenly formed a perfectly smooth wall face, with no fissures or cracks. It was completely sealed, and it was puzzling to Harry. But Harry was not without experience in these situations, after 150 years of seclusion and recovering artifacts and spells he was quite competent in this regard.

"_Lux Morari" _This spell transferred the small ball of light that _lumos_ provided from the tip of Harry's wand to the stone that Harry had tapped. This freed up his wand for further spell casting.

"_Ostium Revelare"_ Harry cast a simple detection spell next, a dark red jolt of light shot from his wand to the smooth stone surface of the odd wall and simply shimmered out of existence. While the spell did not make contact it did prove that some sort of magical defenses were present.

"_Invenio Vitium!" _This spell was slightly more complicated, but it was still child's play for Harry. After the incantation and a brief yet complex wand motion, another reddish light sprang from Harry's wand and flew towards the wall. However this time, as the spell reached exactly where the _Ostium_ spell had dissolved this spell activated. It activated the ancient protective spell, and it came roaring to life. The old spell had not deteriorated in its age, instead it had grown more powerful, feeding off the slight latent magic floating in the air. It was similar to how the wards and spells at Hogwarts gained their power over time.

A blue dome came into existence, and at first glance it seemed just as smooth and flawless as the stone wall behind it, yet to Harry's trained eye a minute imperfection was spotted after just a few moments of observation.

Thinking for a moment Harry decided that a Command would be better suited than a spell in this situation. A Command was an order, heavily draped with magic, that was meant to be irresistibly powerful to whatever it was spoken to. It was a near lost magical art that Harry had rediscovered for himself in Egypt a decade or so ago.

"_Nihil in his tibi velis . Tendunt ad voluntatem meam._"

With his sword back in it's scabbard on his hip and his wand in his right palm Harry watched with interest. It was not everyday that he had an opportunity to test a Command against an ancient and powerful protection.

The Command proved too powerful and the blue dome simply popped out of existence. An ordinary spell that had overpowered or circumnavigated the protection might have led to an explosion or more dramatic ending, but the Command had been to simply bend to Harry's will, which had been for the protection to cease existing. And the powerful illusion that had made the tunnel appear to be a smooth stone wall also ceased to exist.

Drawing his sword once more, dispelling the _lux morari _spell and relighting his simple _lumos _Harry pressed forward through the now open tunnel, now on high alert.

Making his way through the tunnel at a slightly slower pace than before, he soon came upon another barrier, however this one was much simpler. A small wooden door, with an engraved inscription upon it, and a skeleton were directly ahead. The inscription on the magically preserved door read, "Nolite ascendere, non. Apollo hoc locum blasphemum."

Looking down to the crumbled skeleton at the base of the door Harry crouched and grabbed a brass key still clutched between bony and long dead fingers, the other hand clutching a long since decayed sword handle. Deliberately and carefully raising the dull brass key to the keyhole of the door Harry prepared himself for what he would find inside. He had since sheathed his sword once more, still preferring wand over blade when it came down to it. Turning the key in the lock and hearing the click sounding the lock giving way Harry pressed the door gently.

A sweeping gust of sudden wind came out of the now opened doorway, extinguishing Harry's _lumos_ spell, which was strange, as no regular wind could dispel _lumos _like that.

Continuing through into the complete and utter darkness despite trying to hold himself back Harry found that he was no longer in control of himself. Taking half a dozen slow steps into the unknown and inky blackness Harry was suddenly blinded. A flash of light as bright as the sun itself pierced his eyes, sending searing pain straight through them. A splitting headache developed immediately, and Harry's vision did not return.

Regaining some control of his movement Harry drew his sword and wand. Casting various battle magic spells that would have done horrible damage and had devastating effects on the cavern around him had each and every spell not been simply vanishing and ceasing to exist immediately.

Still blind Harry felt the breath forced out of his lungs and his entire body erupt in fiery pain Harry screamed a harsh and brutal cry.

The most beautiful and powerful voice Harry had ever heard then spoke, "Stop. You are here for a reason, now stop." It was impossible to resist the command, and Harry quieted immediately. Though his head still throbbed and his sight was still gone Harry was somewhat calmed.

Nodding his head in submission, knowing that despite how much he disliked doing so that it was impossible to resist such a powerful being, Harry waited for the being to speak again.

"I am Apollo, and you, Harry Potter, will be my tool."

Apollo. The Greek and Roman god of the sun and prophecy? Harry had had enough of prophecies in his time on earth, he needed no more, but it seemed that he was about to be roped into another prophecy.

"It was prophesied that you would one day come to me here. And come you did. It was also prophesied that you would be my servant, my agent, my sword and shield in the physical world. Us gods no longer interfere directly too much, but we can utilize mortals."

But, Harry thought, he was not exactly a mortal, he was in fact quite the opposite now.

"I know you are the so- called 'Master of Death.' That is what will allow you to survive the transportation."

Transportation? What transportation?

"Go to Delphi, Hadrian, and meet my Oracle. She will give you further direction."

Touching his hand to Harry's head Apollo channeled his immense power through Harry.

And thus, still blinded, Hadrian 'Harry' Potter was sent on his way, tumbling through time at the mere touch of a god.

How did y'all like that? It was fun to write, but I think the next parts will be even more fun. Again if anyone of y'all find any blatant errors just let me know. Leave a review and tell me what you think, it really is incredibly motivating and encouraging.


	2. Chapter 2

That was the Prologue, this is the first chapter. I'll be posting this as soon as possible, right now the story is not up because I just uploaded it, but this will be up soon hopefully. In this chapter y'all will meet a few important characters I believe, and remember that Harry is essentially at his physical peak regarding reflexes, strength, stamina, and everything else. He seems and appears to be 25 years old. Leave a review, y'all.

Harry will be referred to as Hadrian.

Hadrian awoke to two tallish men standing over him, one prodding him lightly with the butt of a spear. Immediately reacting and rolling to the side, quickly coming up into a crouching position with his short sword drawn Hadrian looked at the two men. They were both wearing leather armor with red cloaks, red wooden shields, and both also held spears.

Stealing a quick glance at his surroundings Hadrian came to the conclusion that what had just happened in the cave had not been a dream, and the splitting headache and spotty vision could attest to that neatly. The two men had both raised their spears now, and it was a tense situation.

Hadrian was not sure how to proceed, he did not really wish to fight these two men, and he could tell that they did not really wish to fight him. Tentatively he tried to speak, fearing a language barrier between them, "I do not wish to fight you." The sentence came out slow, and slightly broken, but was apparently understood anyways. The two men lowered their spears and began a quick, hushed conversation between themselves. Hadrian sheathed his short sword, and stood tall. He was taller than both of the men, who now did not seem as tall now that Hadrian was standing straight.

Taking a moment to look at his surroundings and himself Hadrian found that he was in the clearing right outside the cave he had been inside, in fact he could see the small pile of grey stones that marked the hidden entrance to the cave from where he stood. He also found that he was wearing some sort of light material shirt/tunic and trousers made of the same material. Hadrian was immensely glad that he was not in the slightly futuristic muggle fashion clothes he had been wearing when he had entered the cave. Patting his side once more he felt the comfortable weight of the Invisibility Cloak on his hip, saw the ring on his finger with the Resurrection Stone, and the Elder Wand was safely in his enchanted wrist holder, spelled invisible.

The two men ended their quick conversation, and one stepped forward slightly and spoke, "You need to come with us. The captain would like to meet you."

Hadrian did not know who this captain was, but he did know that the captain was probably in a city or nearby fort, and perhaps would lead to a way off the island he was currently on, the large island of Sardinia.

Following the two men as they took off into the small scrub bushes and woods that surrounded the clearing Hadrian noted that they were going in the direction that the town of Cagliari, now Calaris, was located. That must be where this captain was.

Walking into the command room of the militia barracks the two men of the _Auxilia_ as Hadrian had learned they were called had quickly briefed the captain on the situation. The captain was a younger man, in his twenties, with short brown hair, and a slightly aristocratic look to him. He was also wearing similar leather armor, except his red cloak was much nicer and he had some heavier metal components of his armor. Instead of a shield he had a sword propped onto his wooden desk, with a shield emblazoned with a golden eagle on a red background propped up behind him. He was a muscular individual, and seemed as if he had experience in combat.

As the two _Auxilia_ left the two men inside the sparsely decorated command room the captain stood, and crossed the room. Retrieving two clay cups and a full leather wineskin the captain poured two cups of wine. Handing one to a rather confused Hadrian who waited to sip from his until the captain had taken the other and had returned to his seat, setting the wineskin onto the desk.

The captain sipped his wine, prompting Hadrian to do so as well, and spoke, "You are clearly of Patrician blood, I can see that in your face. I am Spurius Vinicus Julius, of the Julii family."

Julius? The Julii family? Was that the same that Hadrian had learned about so many years ago as a young boy? The famous Julius Caesar? Hadrian had no way of finding out, he thought as he sipped his wine.

Spurius continued to speak, "But I do not recognize you, and as Captain of the Guard I would have recognized you. The two men that found you said that you drew your sword at them, you are aware this is a crime?"

Hadrian only nodded, he did not completely trust his tentative grasp of speaking latin, but he braved through anyways. "I am Hadrian Potter, of the Potter family. I arrived a few days ago in the North of the island."

Spurius nodded, seemingly happy. "Where are your guards? Your entourage? Surely you do not travel alone."

When Hadrian gave no answer Spurius seemed somewhat surprised. It was rare for a member of a noble family, no matter how influential or uninfluential, to travel by themselves. And even though Spurius had never heard of the Potter family, and it did not sound like a very Roman name, perhaps it was one of the newer noble families. With the Marian Reforms granting citizenship to many and many opportunities a lot had changed over the five years since the Reforms.

"Well, Hadrian, what is your business in Caralis? Perhaps I can assist you in somehow."

Hadrian could not tell if Spurius was truly trying to be helpful, or if he was trying to manipulate him somehow. Spurius had proven somewhat hard to read and gauge for Hadrian, but perhaps it was being over 2 millennia in the past that had thrown off Hadrian.

"My business has changed. I will be moving on from Caralis shortly." Hadrian decided that it was best to play it safe, and not possibly indebt himself to the captain by receiving any aid.

Spurius nodded in reply to Hadrian, and stood as he drained the wine from his cup. Calling for the two _Auxilia_ to come and escort Hadrian out of the barracks/ fort compound, Hadrian was left to his own devices.

Ducking into an alleyway between two buildings Hadrian took stock of everything he had. He currently had his high-quality steel sword, the Elder Wand, the Invisibility Cloak, the Resurrection Stone, the clothes he had on his back, some leather sandals he had realized he was wearing at some point, and he had found a small leather pouch filled with various gold, silver, bronze, and copper coins. All in all Hadrian had very little to his name, but he was still a wizard and he still had his magic.

The sun had reached it's peak, signalling that it was noon and time to eat, which Hadrian's stomach signalled as well. He had not had anything to eat since before he had entered the cave. Exiting the alleyway and making his way through the unfamiliar port city of Caralis Hadrian pondered his next move. He had been instructed to go to Delphi and this order had come from a god. It would be supremely unwise to ignore this order blatantly, and so Hadrian supposed he would have to travel to Delphi at some point soon.

Making his way through the busy marketplace of Caralis Hadrian was in his element. He had spent multiple years in various cities around the world being completely broke. He had had no money then and while he had some money now he was unwilling to use it, and not just to conserve it. He did not understand exactly how much his coins were worth, and was unwilling to spend his money inefficiently, especially if he had no easy way of replenishing his money stocks.

Gliding through the crowded marketplace, grabbing a piece of fruit here and there quite quickly and focusing on making them turn invisible and also shrink immediately, allowing Hadrian to tuck them into the pouch with the Cloak of Invisibility. This was exactly how Hadrian had sustained himself in various poorer parts of the world during his century and a half seclusion. It had worked well then, and it worked well now. He only needed to repeat this routine with four or five pieces of fruit until he felt he had a sufficient meal.

Exiting the marketplace and deciding to simply wander the city for a while as he ate Hadrian pressed onwards. The city was a large and bustling port city, the capital of the island of Sardinia. Hadrian was not very far from Rome, which was now the heart of the very empire that extended far across the world, and would eventually extend further than it did now.

Moving deeper into the city, passing dozens of people on the streets, Hadrian was lost in thought. As he looked around the shock of where and _when_ he was was beginning to get to him. It was actually a rather pleasant surprise, to have something to do now. While he had been content before he really had no been that happy. He was now happy and had a purpose, a mission, something to do with himself.

As night had fallen on the city of Caralis Hadrian had settled down and found a place to spend the night. While it was not the best spot in the world, it was not the worst. He had certainly stayed in worse conditions for longer.

He had found an abandoned alleyway, and had spelled it to be completely clean, habitable, and comfortable for his stay. Transfiguring a comfortable bed roll and propping his sword up next to him as he slept Hadrian was content.

Well that was the first chapter of How A Roman Should Die. I hope y'all all like it, it didn't have very much action, but you can expect that to pick up. In this story it will likely not pick up action wise for a little while, Hadrian needs to build a support base and go through this entire Apollo Arc first. Leave a review and let me know what y'all think.


	3. Chapter 3

Authors Note and Stuff

I do not own Harry Potter. Don't think that I do. For the purposes of this story I will be taking/ making up various establishments and settlements that might share a name with an actual place. Campus Acrae will be introduced this chapter, and is a small fort/ village.

Leave a review, they are greatly appreciated. Also if you have any detailed or in depth knowledge of the Ancient World (Greek, Roman, Carthaginian, etc.) let me know!

The Road to Messana

Hadrian was frustrated. He had been in the city of Caralis for three days now, and he had not managed to secure transportation to Delphi. He realized that this might be difficult and improbable to find a ship sailing directly towards Delphi, so he had decided to settle on a ship bound for Lilybaeum.

The captain of the ship was a short, gruff man with tanned skin and dark eyes. He was an older man, who wore the grey in his slight beard with pride. He had once been in the Legions, but for the past decade he had made his way in the world on the sea, moving shipments of cargo from port to port.

His crew was small, but well trained and skilled. It was a short journey from Caralis to Lilybaeum, and from there Hadrian planned to gain transportation to Messana. He had been allowed a glance or two at the captains charts and maps of the area. Hadrian's proficiency with the language of the Romans was steadily increasing, now he was functionally fluent, and while he did not know many complex words he did not have to know them.

Passage on the ship had cost Hadrian a few of the golden coins he had and a few more of the silver, Hadrian did not quite know if that had been a fair exchange, but it seemed fairly equal. The captain had, after all, had to give up space on his ship and sacrifice space that could have held more cargo and goods to sell.

The boat was rather small, and as it rode the now gentle waves up and down Hadrian could barely make out the faintest speck on the horizon.

"Land, captain!" One of the crew members, stationed up on the mast, yelled down towards the captain who stood at the helm.

The captain nodded and went to adjust a few of the ropes and lines holding the single sail in place.

As the boat sailed ever closer to the shore the city of Lilybaeum came into full view. Soon the sprawling city was the only thing in Hadrians sight, encompassing his entire vision. The trip had only taken a couple of days, and had not been through terribly rough or stormy seas.

The few crew members began scrambling around the ship, preparing the cargo for unload, preparing to take in the sail, or various other tasks that needed to be completed before they could make port.

A few hours later Hadrian was standing next to the captain as he negotiated a deal with a Lilbaeumian merchant. Eventually a deal was struck, and with a brief clasping of arms the deal was sealed. The merchant would be taking all of the cargo from the captain, but Hadrian had lagged behind to speak to the merchant himself.

"Where are these goods bound for, sir?" Hadrian inquired.

Hadrian knew that the Romans valued respect to their elders, and the merchant certainly appeared to be Hadrian's elder, despite most likely being significantly younger in actuality.

"The small fort of Campus Acrae. Inland a ways, towards Panormus. They need the supplies and I can sell the expensive luxury goods in Panormus itself."

Hadrian nodded, and considered his options. He could take a ship from Lilybaeum to Messana as he had planned, or he could hitch a ride so to speak, with this merchant. The sea route would be much faster, but it would also be more expensive for Hadrian, who had limited resources, and no income at all.

"When would you be leaving Lilybaeum?" Hadrian asked the aged merchant.

"Day after tomorrow." The gruff man seemed ill disposed to speak much to total strangers, which Hadrian could understand.

"Would it be possible I traveled with you to Panormus?"

"For a price." The man seemed done talking for now, and agreed with Hadrian to meet him in the eastern corner of the market at noon the next day. As the old merchant mounted the wagon his newly acquired goods were on he set off into the bustling city, and Hadrian wandered away to find the market.

Stalking through the market as the sun was beginning to disappear over the horizon Hadrian once more pondered how he had ended up in such a peculiar place and time. He had no connection to Ancient Rome before, in any way. But he had more pressing matters, the market was steadily closing business for the day and Hadrian was hungry and tired. He did not feel any inclination to spend any more nights in dark and damp alleyways that were spelled to be barely habitable.

Eyes bright and alert as he walked through the city proper, having exited the market place. Walking the cobbled and well designed roads of the city was relaxing to Hadrian, he had spent many nights during his travels simply walking the roads and streets of whatever city he happened to be in. Of course there was a chance of danger involved with this, but not very high, and certainly nothing that Hadrian could not deal with. He still had his wand and his sword in this time, and he was highly proficient at combat with both.

As the sun descended past the horizon and brought with it the last rays of light the city fell into darkness. Occasionally his wandering path was lit by the odd fire or lamp from a window, but it was mostly unlit. This did not bother Hadrian, as his night vision had been honed and sharpened to be nearly as clear as his regular vision, he could clearly see his way and his surroundings.

As he was wandering his thoughts wandered as well. He thought of all that he had lost, He did not lose many friends, his old friends had long since perished while he had been unchanged in his eternally youthful body. He had dealt with that reality and that pain long ago, and there was nothing short of immensely powerful necromancy that could bring them back now. Hadrian had, however, left behind a rather vast hidden estate, magically secure and hidden from all who would seek him, to do good or to harm him. Hadrian had long ago became very disenchanted with hundreds of visits from the Ministry, foreign delegates and diplomats, and young adventurers seeking him for various reasons. Because of this Hadrian had painstakingly tracked down several ancient tomes that had old and powerful spells and enchantments that allowed him to hide his estate. They had proven very successful, and his house and land had been his safety fall back during his travels. But none of that mattered now, nor did the extensive magical artifact and weapon collection that he had acquired throughout his journeys and adventures. None of it was useful to him anymore, it was all firmly lodged two and a half thousand years into the future, and it was right now looking quite unlikely that Hadrian would ever return to his native time period. This was somewhat saddening for Hadrian, he had spent over a century and a half gathering those artifacts and weapons, which would now sit uselessly until someone manages to break through his wards and enchantments.

Sighing as he resigned himself to another night spent in an alleyway, fitfully sleeping.

LINE BREAK. LINE BREAK LINE BREAK. PLACEHOLDER LINE BREAK. LINE BREAK.

The meagre fire gave little warmth, but it did not need to give much warmth or light, it was more an afterthought added to the small camp. It had been used to cook two small animals that one of the four guards who had been hired for the trip. The merchant himself was too old to protect his cargo by himself, and he could not trust Hadrian yet.

They expected no trouble on the road from Lilybaeum to Campus Acrae. But it was well known to the merchant and the people living in Lilybaeum that in the woods between Lilybaeum and Panormus that a few different groups of bandits roamed through the countryside, stealing and raiding the small caravans that passed through.

The idea was that the small caravan of six men and a small wagon would not pose a significant target for the bandits.

LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE

Swords clashed and yells could be heard. Sharpened steel rang on sharpened steel, and the violent rings and clashes could be heard throughout the clearing. Short shouts could also be heard, some being cut short with wet, squelching noises. Two of the four guards had fallen already in the sudden ambush. Three of the raiders had perished violent deaths so far. About half a dozen of the raiders were still fighting,

"Defend the wagon!" The old merchant had raised his own sword, and had formed a one man final line of defense for the wagon. It would turn out to be for naught as an arrow sailed through the air and sunk into his chest. Grimacing in deep pain as he watched blood pool around the wound the old merchant sank to the ground. The wound was fatal and within moments the old merchant had died.

Stealing a glance away from the raider that he was fighting Hadrian saw the old man fall. Hadrian realized that he did not even know his name, despite traveling with him and the guards for a day and a half. They had only been halfway to Campus Acrae when the ambush had began.

Rotating his wrist and twisting his sword as he did so Hadrian neatly disarmed his opponent, and followed through with a quick stab that pierced cleanly through the unarmored raider. Moving on to join the rest of the battle Hadrian knew it was futile to continue to fight. Watching one of the remaining two guards fall to a spear thrust through his back Hadrian tried to shout a warning. This only served to gain the attention of the two raiders who had killed the guard, who both approached Hadrian with their weapons raised.

The last surviving guard broke and ran from the battle, successfully escaping into the thicker part of the forest. This left Hadrian fighting two combatants, with another four nearby.

Hadrian retrieved his wand from it's hiding place and palmed it in his left hand and quickly raised it up against the two approaching men.

"_Fulguris!" _Hadrian barked out, and a dazzling bolt of lightning shot out of the tip of his wand and slammed into the chest of the spear wielding opponent, killing him instantly.

"_Ignis Flagellum_" Incanting another spell as he swept his wand from left to right a flaming whip appeared and raked itself across the last raider approaching him. Burning through his clothes and disarming the sword wielding man Hadrian dispelled the whip and took the chance to escape.

Sprinting towards the edge of the forest that Hadrian believed would take him away from the direction of Lilybaeum Hadrian could hear the pained screams of the partially burnt man he left behind.

LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE

It had been two days since the ambush on the small caravan, and since then Hadrian had been wandering through the forest, guided slightly by a few spells he knew. He knew that he was travelling eastward, the direction of both Panormus and Messana, where he was hoping to eventually reach, but he was not sure when he would reach Panormus, as he was quite far south of it with no way of knowing when to head northwards.

And so Hadrian continued to travel through the woods for the next five days, conjuring fresh water when he was thirsty or needed to cook, and eating what he could kill once his couple days of fruit and rations were depleted. It was not exceptionally difficult hiking or walking, but it was rather time consuming. The seven day walking journey had left Hadrian plenty of time to consider current events, more specifically this time about this 'god' that he had met, Apollo.

It was obvious that the being who had introduced himself as Apollo was immensely powerful wizard or magical being, but Hadrian was not convinced that Apollo was a god. Perhaps he had fashioned himself after the greek and roman god of the sun, but maybe he was not authentic. After all Hadrian believed little in religion, and had even less reason to believe in ancient greek and roman religions that were mainly used to explain the then unexplainable natural events, occurrences, and disasters.

His mind was thoroughly occupied through his short journey through the forest, and the time seemed to fly by for Hadrian.

LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE BREAK LINE

The city of Messana loomed in the distance, Hadrian was standing on the edge of the forest, on a small cliff that overlooked the city.

Author's Note:

Ending was rather abrupt, but I really wanted to publish this today. I'll get working on the next chapter either tonight or tomorrow, depending on when I begin the next chapter of What Was Once Forgotten.

Leave a review y'all. You have no idea how inspiring and motivating they are.


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